1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns window sash units and more particularly window sash units of a wood mill construction which are adapted to be opened by either vertical or horizontal movement, i.e., either the double hung or slider type window units.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two basic types of two-sash opening windows are commonly utilized in residential applications, double hung and slider windows. In the double hung installation, the window sashes are mounted within a window frame for vertical sliding movement. The windows are normally equipped with a sash mechanism to balance their weight to enable the windows to be positioned in any desired partially-opened position, typically by means of a block and tackle cord system normally accommodated by channel recesses formed along the lateral outer edges of each of the lower and upper sash units. The bottom rail of the lower sash normally meets with the sloping windowsill whereas the top rail of the upper sash as well as the stiles or side rails are typically received within a horizontal channel, the horizontal channel generally providing a weather stripping on its exterior edge. The overlapping check rail members of each of the upper and lower sashes in the closed position engage each other with a weather stripping arrangement of various types adapted to seal the engaging surfaces.
The horizontal slider or rolling type window installations involve a pair of sash units, one of which is commonly fixed and the other of which is mounted for sliding or rolling movement in a horizontal direction towards the other sash unit, with the bottommost edge of the sash adapted to accommodate a roller mechanism for support of the weight sash and elimination of friction during opening movement.
The end rail of each sash unit is received within a channel similar in configuration to the top and side channels of the double hung installation incorporating a weather stripping. The top rails in the horizontal sliders are also generally received in channels and adapted to engage the weather stripping during the sliding movement thereof, all provided in order to seal the sash units against the infiltration of outside air.
The inside vertical members comprising one side of each of the sashes, also called check rails, move into mating engagement also usually incorporate a weather stripping arrangement for sealing the mating surfaces as they move into engagement.
The differences in installation details of the sash units of the double hung and the horizontal sliding sash units, i.e., in the double hung the use of the block and tackle cord components and the necessity of mating the bottom rail with the sill sloping configuration and in the horizontal rolling type the roller structure mating with the sill has produced a differing sash configuration for each of these types of window and for the individual sash units in each window installation.
It would of course be advantageous if a common sash unit configuration could be adapted to both sash units of double hung and horizontal sliding installations since manufacturing, inventory, administrative and various other overhead expenses entailed with the stocking and manufacturing of a relatively great number of sash configurations could be eliminated.
Furthermore, among the rail and stile members of which the sash units are constructed there has typically been provided a relatively great number of individual members of varying configurations due to this same factor, increasing the costs of marketing window units due to increased manufacturing costs and the expense of stocking and assembling sash unit members of many different configurations. It would be also advantageous if the sash unit construction could be simplified to reduce the number of stile or rail members, as these framing members are termed, to a minimum.
A serious problem has been encountered with some weather stripping configurations arising from the tendency for the weather stripping seal to create a jam condition between the mating check rails in the event that overtravel of one sash unit with respect to the other occurs due to slamming or looseness in the mating units, allowing a weather stripping seal to enter a weather strip recess in the mating check rail which entry creates a jammed condition since the weather strip edge cannot be removed from the recess without disassembly of the sash units.
It would thus be further advantageous to provide such a universal sash unit in which the check rail sealing or weather stripping arrangement is such as to eliminate the incidences of weather stripping jam conditions developing upon overtravel of the sash units.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sash unit construction which is adapted to both double hung and horizontal sliding installations without modification and to either of the individual sashes in these installations so as to provide a "universal" sash unit.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simplified sash construction in which the stile and rail members are reduced to a minimum number of configurations.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a sash construction in which a check rail weather strip arrangement is provided in which overtravel of the respective sash units can be corrected by merely retracting the sash units without the need to free the weather strip or to disassemble the sash units from the window frame.